As director of development at Philander Smith College and the founder of Parks Professional Group, a firm that focuses on public speaking and management consulting services, Rodney Parks often has occasion to speak to young men and women about how to be successful.

When speaking to students, Parks, who was recently named chairman of the state banking board, passes on three premises which he said have served him well and are the result of lessons passed on from his family and personal experiences.

“I tell them to root themselves into something that is permanently sustainable — No. 1 of which is faith. Never stop the desire to learn,” Parks said. “And always see the childlike innocence in the oldest and most accomplished of individuals so you will never be intimidated by someone’s wealth, status or anything else that is different than you. All of us are somebody’s child with ambitions and goals. If you always see that, no one is more important than the other and at the same time everybody is important.”

Parks, who now lives in Little Rock with his wife Carmen and their twin daughters, Kennedy and Olivia, had his sights set on a career in business from an early age and at Russellville High School was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

“Maybe I’ve been successful (as a young member of FBLA),” he said. “I’d have rather been an NBA basketball player, but my jump shot did not allow that to take place. In high school I was not as confident as I am now, but I always thought that I had a voice to give to the conversations that were out there.”

Parks said his confidence soared at ATU, where he served as Student Government Association president and earned a degree in economics and finance. With the option to attend several other schools, including Vanderbilt and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Parks said staying at home and attending Tech was one of the best decisions of his life.

“I got the individual recognition that I had been seeking years earlier at Tech through student government, fraternity and political involvement,” Parks said. “And also having a car — thanks Dad — and traveling the state allowed me to meet all of my peers at other colleges, which gave me an even greater sense of my capacity.”

Parks credits his family, especially his grandmother Thelma Sandidge, who passed away last year at age 99, with setting the foundation for his confidence to emerge at Tech.

“She was one of those grandmothers that spoke in parables all the time,” Parks said. “The one thing she always used to tell me that made me do very well with people was ‘It doesn’t take all day to know people.’ That sense of perception and knowing how to navigate various people is something I carried from her. … Those parables she always spoke in were so rooted in me that I know it’s the spring of where my confidence and sense of who I am in this world comes from.”

One important lesson Parks has learned is success is not necessarily a finish line, but more about gaining a capacity to adapt. In his professional life, Parks had a six-month period when he was unemployed and wound up selling cars at one point.

“It was very therapeutic for me because it got me back to being around people and doing what I do best — helping others clarify their thoughts to make good decisions,” Parks said. “Anytime you get knocked down and you keep going, that’s what allows you to have a testimony of faith as to why it is you’re not in a ditch somewhere or living in a hovel. Basically it’s ‘how’d you get your strength back? ... It’s that first step. How’d you do it? The car lot was that first step and everything else fell into place.”

Parks credits his ability to persevere in the face of adversity to his parents, who inspired him with their handling of the suicide of his younger brother Greg in 1997. Greg suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and ended his life because he feared his inability to control himself, Parks said.

“I think he recognized that he couldn’t control his thoughts and that scared him because he didn’t want to hurt anybody,” Parks said.

Parks said his parents — Glenn and Jean Parks — provided the example for the rest of his family to continue after Greg’s death.

“The spiritual and mental strength of my mother and father during that time transitioned the entire family to know there was absolutely nothing that God does that is not part of his plan,” Parks said. “There was never a question ‘Why?’ That experience allowed all of us in my family to be advocates for mental illness without shame, with humility, without foolish pride and with strength and humbleness.”

The family established a scholarship for students focused on behavioral sciences at ATU in memory of Greg in 2003.

Parks said his brother is the main reason he was interested in giving back and providing guidance for young people. Parks said his brother was selfless, where he felt he was the opposite when he was younger.

“I have learned that I cannot take it with me and that it is very rewarding to share and give my talents away because it comes back three to five times greater than it is given,” Parks said. “Growing up like I did, I did not participate in study groups in high school or even in college which means I put a lot of pressure on myself, which at times made me selfish because of how hard I had to work. As outgoing as I was, I was guarded in what I would share because I worked so hard. My brother always had more fun than I did. I so desperately wanted to be like that. Since his passing, I have learned that my fun is actually when I do share what I’m blessed to know or understand. I hate that my brother is not physically here to see that I have finally learned what he shared with me.”

Though he lives in Little Rock now, Parks said he visits often and his children love visiting the Arkansas River Valley.

“They’d like to live up here,” he said. “They say we have better fishing up here. They want to fish more. They like the mountains up here,” Parks said. “The joy of being raised in a small town is how much you value community. That basis of community is family. If you have a strong family, you have a strong community.”